Deans, Bob

PERSONAL:

Born in VA; married; wife's name Karen; children: three.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bethesda, MD. Office—Cox Newspapers, Washington Bureau, 400 N. Capitol St., N.W., Ste. 750, Washington, DC 20001-1536.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Fairchild Publications, Atlanta-based reporter, 1980, then editor, New York, NY, 1981-1983; Post and Courier, Charleston, SC, reporter, 1983; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA, business reporter, beginning 1984; Cox Newspapers, Washington, DC, chief Asia correspondent in Tokyo, Japan, 1987-91, then national correspondent and then White House correspondent, 1992—.

MEMBER:

White House Correspondents Association (president, 2002-2003).

WRITINGS:

Behind the Headlines, Japan Society (New York, NY), 1996.

The River Where America Began: A Journey along the James, Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Longtime journalist Bob Deans is the author of The River Where America Began: A Journey along the James. In this historical account, the author writes of the James River and the establishment of Jamestown, the first English colony in America. Deans begins by tracing the origins of the river and those who lived along it from the beginning of civilization in America dating back 15,000 years. He then delves into the establishment of Jamestown and the history of the new British colonies. The history continues through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Among the historical events the author discusses are the meeting of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, an Indian attack on the Jamestown settlement in 1622, the Bacon rebellion of 1676, the American Revolution, and Abraham Lincoln's journey up the James River in 1865 to tour the defeated town of Richmond, Virginia. In the process, Deans also provides a history of the many contributions Virginians made to the developing colonies and subsequently the United States. "His succession of stories brims with drama," wrote Thomas J. Davis in the Library Journal. Writing in Booklist, Gilbert Taylor noted that the author's "fast-moving presentation successfully engages interest in an overview of Jamestown and its aftermath."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2007, Gilbert Taylor, review of The River Where America Began: A Journey along the James, p. 56.

Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2007, "Jamestown: Where the American Story Began," p. 9.

Library Journal, February 15, 2007, Thomas J. Davis, review of The River Where America Began, p. 130.

ONLINE

Coxwashington.com,http://www.coxwashington.com/ (October 7, 2007), profile of author.

PFD New York,http://www.pfdny.com/ (October 7, 2007), brief profile of author.

River Where America Began Web site,http://theriverwhereamericabegan.com (October 7, 2007).